Bottle holder



March 1, 1955 J. B. BIEDERMAN 2,703,253

BOTTLE HOLDER Filed April 24, 1953 IN V EN TOR.

I 1 g c/OjEPHB. B/EDERMAN M9 Attfys,

United States Patent BOTTLE HOLDE o p B- d ma C nci at Oh o ApplicationApril 24, 1953, Serial No. 350,889 Claims. (Cl. 294-9873) h inventionrel es to a rack for ot l an more part cularly, to a rack which may be.used as a bo tl carrier and as a device for hanging tlfil es from ;astationary support.

An j t of this in ention is t Provide a rack having a handle by means ofwhich the rack can be carried and y mean of which therack can :be hung.or suspended fro? a stationary support with bottles mounted on the racA u t e je t of this invention is to provide a rack by which bottles maybe suspended therefrom .by the necks thereof.

A further object of this invention .is to provide a rack havmg a ngatedmain member of substantia ly invetted U-shape section frornend to endwhich form a y for th n cks of holes having rolled lips, in whic r k thf an es o the main member exten toward bu in spaced relation to eachother so that the bottles may be suspended by the lips thereof.

A further object of this invention is to provide a rack support for sucha rack to which the rack may quickly and easily be attached, or fromwhich the rack may readily be removed.

A further object of this invention is to provide a latching means forholding the rack on the rack support.

From the following description and the accompanying drawing, the aboveand other objects and features of the invention will be apparent tothose having ordinary skill in the art to which it pertains.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a view in side elevation showing a rack constructed inaccordance with an embodiment of this invention, two bottles beingsuspended from the rack;

Fig. 2 is a view in section taken along a line li-Il in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the rack, part of the handlethereof being broken away and in section for clarity of detail;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view in bottom plan of a portion of the rack;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a rack and rack support constructed inaccordance with another embodiment of this invention, the latch of therack support being partly broken away for clarity;

Fig. 6 is a view in section taken along a line VI-Vl in Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view in section taken along a line VII--VII inFig. 3.

In the following detailed description, and the drawing, like referencecharacters indicate like parts.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the rack includes an elongated member 10 ofsubstantially inverted U-shape in section from end to end. The loweredges of flanges 12 and 13 of the member 10 are turned inwardly towardsbut spaced from each other to form edge flanges 14 and 16'. The flanges14 and 16 form a way for the necks of bottles 17.

As shown in the drawing, each bottle 17 has a neck 18 and a rolled lipor bead 19. Thelips of the bottles rest on the edges of the flanges 14and 16 so that the bottles are suspended from the flanges.

Bottle stops 21 and 22 are provided at the ends of the elongated member10. The stop 21 is U-shaped in general outline and is provided withinwardly projecting prongs 22' and 23 at the ends thereof. The prongs 22and 23 are received in openings in the flanges of the elongated member10.

The stop member 21 is formed of resilient metal, and is provided with alooped or bent portion 24 that is en- 2,703,253 Patented Mar. 1, 1955 21and 22 are swung downwardly, they serve as stops to retain the bottlesin .the way of the elongated member.

A U-shaped handle 26 is attached to the web of member 10 substantiallycentrally thereof. The arms of the handle 26 are provided with shoulders27 (Fig. 7)

A which .engage the web of member 10. The ends of the arms projectthrough the web and are peened over, as

shown in Fig. 4, at 28 to firmly hold the ends of the gandle in assemblywith the web of the elongated mem- As shown most clearly in Figs. 1 and3, the handle I 26 fits over a U-shaped supporting bracket 29. As shownin Figs. '2 and 3, the bracket 29 is attached to a wall 31 or the likeand projects outwardly therefrom in substantially a horizontal plane.The arms of the bracket 29 are provided with Z-shaped bends 32 whichengage the handle '26. Similarly, the handle 26 is provided withsubstantially Z.-shaped bends 33 which engage the bracket.

The rack is held in position on the bracket 29 by means of a resilientlatch member 34. The latch member 34 is rigidly attached to the crossmember 36 of the bracket and extends, cantilever-fashion, therefromtoward'wall 31. A U -shaped portion or tongue 37 on the lower side oflatch member :34 engages a slot 38 in the web of elongated member 10 tohold the rack in position on the rack-supporting bracket 29. As shown inFig. 2, a portion of the latch member 34 extends beyond U-shaped portion37 to form a tongue 41. The tongue 41 is adapted to engage one of theflanges of the rack when the rack is pushed onto the rack support andraise the latching portion 37 so that it can fall into the slot 38. Inaddition, the tongue 41 may be engaged to raise the latch 34 from theweb of the elongated member of the rack to release the rack. A returnbend portion 42 of the latch overlies the main portion and serves as astop to limit upward movement of the latch member 34. The return bendportion 42 and the main portion of the latch 34 are held together by arivet 43. The rivet 43 extends into a groove 46 in the cross member ofthe bracket to lock the latch member thereto.

The rack illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 is similar to that shown in theother drawings with the exception that a different form of latch member50 is employed. The latch member 50 is pivotally mounted in arack-supporting bracket 51. The latch includes a U-shaped main member 52which extends around the rack-supporting bracket. A plug 53 of plasticmaterial is disposed between the arms of the U-shaped member 52 and isattached thereto by means of a rivet 54.

The elongated member 10 of the rack is formed of metal, for example,aluminum, and the plug 53 is formed of the methyl methacrylate resin ofthe type commonly referred to as Lucite Plexiglas. When the latch member52 is swung downwardly to the position shown in Fig. 6 the resinous plugengages one of the flanges of the elongated member to lock the rackmember 10 upon the rack-supporting bracket. On the other hand, when thelatch member 50 is swung upwardly to the position shown in dotted lines,the rack is released and can be removed from the bracket 51.

The racks illustrated in the drawing may be used by a delivery mandelivering milk, soft drinks, or the like. The bottles are supported inthe rack by the necks thereof and may readily be carried by means of thehandles of the racks. The bottles do not need to be removed from theracks when delivered, but the racks may simply be inserted into anappropriate mounted rack support witout need for moving or adjusting thebottles in the rac s.

The racks illustrated in the drawing and described above are subject tostructural modification without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

l. A rack for bottles having a neck and a rolled lip comprising anelongated member of substantially inverted U-shape in section from endto end, the edges of the flanges of said member extending inwardlytowards but spaced from each other to provide a way for the necks of thebottles, the lips of the bottles bearing on said fiange edges, wherebythe bottles are suspended from the flanges, bottle stop means at theends of the elongated member for retaining the bottles therein, aU-shaped handle attached to the web of the elongated member, a U-shapedrack support adapted to be removably received between the arms ofthehandle, the handle and rack support being engageable, and a latchmember mounted on the cross member of the rack support to engage theelongated member and hold the handle and rack support in engagement.

2. A rack in accordance with claim 1 characterized by the fact that theelongated member is slotted between the arms of the handle, that thelatch member is resilient and is rigidly attached to the rack support,and that a tongue on the latch member is releasably received in the slotto hold the handle on the rack support.

3. A rack in accordance with claim 1 characterized by the fact that thelatch member is pivotally mounted on the cross member of the racksupport and that the latch member releasably engages one of the flangeson the main portion.

4. A rack in accordance with claim 1, characterized by the fact that thelatch member is pivotally mounted on the cross member of the racksupport, that the elongated member is formed of metal, that the latchmember includes a plug of plastic resinous material, and that the plugof the latch member releasably engages one of the flanges of the mainportion.

' 5. A rack for bottles having a neck and a rolled lip comprising anelongated member of substantially inverted U-shape in section from endto end, the edges of the flanges of said member extending inwardlytowards but spaced from each other to provide a way for the necks of thebottles, the lips of the bottles bearing on said flange edges, wherebythe bottles are suspended from the flanges, bottle-stop means at theends of the elongated member for retaining the bottles therein, a U-shaped handle attached to the web of the elongated member, a U-shapedrack support adapted to be removably received between the arms of thehandle, the handle and the rack support being engageable, a resilientlatch member rigidly attached cantilever-fashion to the cross member ofthe rack support, there being a latch actuating tongue on the latchmember, said latch actuating tongue being engageable with one of themain flanges of the elongated member when the handle is advancedover therack support to swing the'free end of the latch member upwardly, andlatch keeper means on the main portion engageable with the latch to holdthe handle and rack support in engagement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

